Nut-lock.



No. 729;.966. V PATENTED JUNE 2, 1903.

' W. A. SCOTT.

NUT LOCK.

APPLIQATION FILED MAR. 30,.1903.

Patented June 2, 1903.

PATENT @FFICE;

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS SCOTT, OF QUINCY, FLORIDA NUT-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 729,966, dated June 2,- 1903.

Application filedMarch 30,1903. Serial No. 150,221. (Nomodeld To all whom it may concern;- I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Quincy, in the county of Gadsden and State of Florida, have invented a new and useful Nut-Lock, of which the following is a specification. 4

This invention relates to devices for preventing nuts from turning backward upon bolts, more particularly to the nuts employed upon the bolts of railwayrail joints, but which may likewise be employed upon many other structures, andI do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the use of the device upon any particular structure or in any particular locality.

The principal object of the invention is to improve and simplify devices of this class and to increase the efficiency without increasing cost of manufacture.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the construction,as hereinafter shown and described, and specified inthe claims.

In the drawings illustrative of the inven- .tion,in which corresponding parts are denoted by like reference characters, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the device applied to a railway-rail joint. Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the spring clamp-plate, enlarged; and Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view, enlarged, of the lock-lever. Fig. v l is a view similarto Fig. 2, illustrating the form of spring clamp-plate which will be used when two of the lock-levers are engaged by one plate. of the clamp-bolts.

The improved device is more particularly applicable to railway-rail joints, and for the purpose of illustration it is shown applied to suchastructure, 1O 11 representing the abutting ends of two adjacent railway-rails, 12 one of the clamp or fish plates, 13 the clampbolts, 14 the nuts, and lathe -railway-ties, of the usual construction.

The improved nut-locking device consiststhe spring-plate is formed with a channel 18, extending transversely of the plate and open- Fig. 5 is a cross-section through one The narrower end of ing against the vertical portion of the clampplate 12, as shown, the channel being of a width sufficient to receive one end of a lock-lever,now to be described. .This plate 16 forms a base or support for a lock-lever consisting of a main arm 19, adapted to extend longitudinally of the plate and with one end 20 bent at right angles thereto and extended through the channel 18, terminating in an offset 21, extending at an angle to the end 20 to prevent its withdrawal from the channel, the

main arm 19 being offset at its junction with the arm 20, as shown at 19, to permit said arm 19 to rest parallel to and in engagement with the fiat surface of the extended portion of the spring-plate 16. The part 20 will be made long enough to extend through the channel able only in one direction=-that is, away from or toward the plate 12-and is immovable in all other directions, and as all strains to which it will be subjected when in use are in the direction in which-,the lever is immovable no danger exists of the locking device working loose while in use.

The arm 19 maybe extended to engage two or more of the nuts, as indicated at the right in Fig. 1, or each nut. may be supplied with its own individual locking means, or two of the channels 18 may be employed to support two of the members 20, as shown at the left of Fig. l and in Fig. 4, so that two nuts may be locked from one spring-plate; but these modificationswould not bea departure from the principle of the invention, as the-same results would be accomplished jinthe same manner in all the formsshown.

The portion 20 may be formed of any irregular shape, but will preferably be flat or oblong, as shown.

The device may be readily adapted to any size of bolt and nut and to bolts and nuts employed in any locality or upon any form of structure and without making any change whatever in the bolt or nut.

Many forms of devices of this class require the nuts to be set at a certain predetermined position to render the locking means effective; but in the device herein disclosed the lock-lever will operate effectually upon the nuts no matter what its position may be relative to the bolt or lever, so that it is not necessary to set the nuts in any particular position upon the bolt in order to render the device effective. This is an important advantage, especially when employed upon structures wherein it is necessary to hold the parts with great firmness and wherein an increased forward movement of the nut is impossible and wherein a partial backward rotation would be ver 7 detrimental, such as in railway-rail joints and similar structures.

The plate 16 may be formed slightly concave upon its inner face next the plate 12, as shown in Fig. 5, to increase the grip between the parts and to provide a yielding joint which will maintain the parts in position when the contraction and expansion of the rails and other parts occur. By this means the joints will remain tight at all times and at all seasons of the year without attention from the operatives and is therefore an important feature of the invention and materially increases its value and efficiency.

The depth of the recesses 18 will always be less than the thickness of the portions 20 of the locking-levers, so that when in position no partof the free end of the plate 16 touches the clamp-bar 12. Hence a perpetual spring force is exerted upon the lever to hold it firmly in position, effectually preventing any accidental displacement or release of the nut. The oblong form of the portion 12, as before stated, greatly assists in securing the requisite holding power of the clamp.

llavingthus described the invention, what I claim is- 1. A nut-lock consisting'of a spring-plate adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported, and provided with a channel in its free end opening against said structure, and a lock-leveradapted to be extended into engagement with said nut and with one end projecting through said channel and terminating in an offset to prevent its withdrawal,substantially as specified.

2. A nut-lock consisting of a spring-plate having one end laterally extended and adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported, andhavinga channelin its narrower end, and a lock-leveradapted to rest over the nut and in engagement with the extended end of said spring-plate and projecting through said channel and provided with an ofifset to prevent its withdrawal, substantially as specified.

3. A nut-lock consisting of a spring-plate adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported, and provided with a channel in its free end opening against said structure, and a lock-lever adapted to be extended into engagement with said nut and with one end projecting through said channel and terminating in an offset to prevent its Withdrawal, the portion of the lever engaging said channel being irregular in transverse section, whereby said lever-arm will be .yieldably supported in position, substantially as specified.

4. A nut-lock consisting of a spring-plate having oneend laterally extended and adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported and provided with a channel in its narrower end, and a lock-lever adapted to rest over the nut and in engagement with said extended end, and projecting through said channel, and provided with an offset to prevent its withdrawal and also provided with an offset between said channel and the free end of said lever-arm whereby said lever-arm rests parallel to and in engagement with the flat surface of the extended portion of said spring-plate, substantially as specified.

5. In a device of the class described the combination with the clamp-plates, clamp-bolts and nuts of a railway-rail joint, of a springplate engaging the bolt between the nuts and clamp-plates and having a channel opening against the clamp-plate, and a lock-lever engaging the nut and having one end projecting through said channel and terminating in an offset to prevent its withdrawal, substantially as specified.

6. A nut-lock consisting of a spring-plate adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported, and pro vided with a channel in its free end opening against said structure, and two lock-levers movably supported yieldably in said channel and extended in opposite directions and engaging adjacent nuts, substantially as specifled.

7. A nut-lock consisting of a spring-plate adapted to engage the bolt between the nut and the structure being supported, and provided with a channel in its free end opening against said structure, and a lock-lever adapted to be extended into engagement with said nut and with one end projecting through said channel and terminating in an offset to prevent its withdrawal, said end being of greater thickness than the depth of the channel, to permit the spring-plate to exert a constant force against the lock-lever, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS SCOTT.

Witnesses:

WM. B. MALONE, IRA D. Rnavns. 

